I am loving my Riverdog Farm box. Their produce is so gorgeous and it has been surprisingly fun to have my vegetable selection predetermined by them (or by nature I guess you could say.) Instead of going to the market in search of specific ingredients to meet the needs of a particular recipe, the vegetables themselves take the upper-hand. Riverdog's kale and butternut squash were the seeds of inspiration for this hearty veggie stew.

If you've got the space and the weather, I highly recommend keeping a few pots of herbs around. The sage and rosemary came from our garden and I always pluck a few bay leaves from Tilden Park to dry at home. With your own herb pots, you can snip just enough for whatever you are cooking. You save so much money not buying packaged herbs and you gain a ton of flavor.

Soak beans overnight in 4 cups water. Drain. Place beans in sauce pan and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Simmer for 2 hours or so. Add more water if the level gets low. Salt and set aside tender beans.

Beans, kale and butternut squash. Mmmmm....Do you use natural light or a Lowel Ego in your photography? It is beautiful. My Canon just broke so I'm temporarily using my point and shoot. Very sad about this turn of events.

I only use natural light and a wide aperture lens. Of course this is a little limited in these darker months, but I cannot resist the beauty. Hope you can get your camera fixed soon - it's hard to go back to a point a shoot.

This is so much more than soup! It is such a delightful balance of complete, healthy, delicious comfort food! I usually make a big pot of it and freeze some to enjoy on a stormy evening with some crusty bread and cheese!

My sis and I just whipped up a batch of your stew/soup and wanted to tell you it's delicious and hits the spot on a December day. We're always on the lookout for a healthy meal and this certainly fits the bill and fills the belly. Certain to become a winter staple, I'm sure. Thanks....